Over the years, the bow-tie brand has been the Heartbeat of America, Like a Rock and espoused seeing the U.S.A. in a Chevrolet. Seeing the U.S.A. in today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Corvette convertible might get your heart beating a little faster, but will its price mean you won't be getting your rocks off?

If there was one thing that junior high taught me — and it's very likely that is the case — it's that the proper response to any statement in the obvious is well, duh! Here, I'll use it in an example — at nearly eleven-large, yesterday's 1979 Olds Cutlass diesel, despite rocking a stick, came up short in an 88% Crack Pipe loss. Well, duh! See how well that works? Thanks, 7th grade!

Finding a survivor ‘70s GM product, and then discovering it has one of the company's diesel…
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Today's car certainly makes the grade, the Corvette being so iconically American that it was the only thing astronauts could find on the ground that could give them the same rush as spending millions in tax dollars to crap in their pants while circling the globe. New in ‘68, the Corvette Stingray pushed the envelope of styling as one year later did Neil Armstrong the boundaries of Man's achievement.

This 1968 Corvette convertible, in Le Mans blue, may not be the the most original example, but it sure looks like it would be a barrel full of monkeys — and not the poo-flinging kind. The Corvette dealer brochure for that model year described the car as "All Different, All Over," a claim which could have been disputed at the time if it hadn't been for the jaw-dropping styling. Underneath that, the Corvette carried on the C2's same wheelbase and much of its underpinnings, including transverse leaf spring independent suspension, as the earlier car. Engine choices were a selcetion of 327s and 427s in various states of rabidity. New for ‘68 was the first ever option of a three-speed THM transmission.

You will find neither the original engine, nor an auto box in this car, the seller claiming instead a 350 cid V8 punched out to .030 over, and the four-speed stick that you'd really want to find between its thin, vinyl seats. If you are looking for matching numbers, this obviously isn't your car, but if you want a good looking classic ‘Vette that could be a daily driver? Well then, we have much to discuss.

Being the first year of a substantially redesigned model, the ‘68 Corvette came with, and expanded upon, a reputation for a number of problems, however none of them too serious, and all of them fixable. This did result in the ‘68 cars having a lot of parts — door handles, vacuum systems for headlamp and wiper door, and others — that are unique to that model year only, despite there being little evidence of the difference between it and later years.

The rest of this one looks to be an excellent driver, and the seller claims that the 350 and the rest of the drivetrain is new. The interior is not in showroom shape but it's perfectly serviceable right down to the pinkie-thin three spoke wheel. Outside, the wheels aren't quite as nice, nor are they original, but the seller says the car comes with its factory steelies. That's good because the chromed Cuisinart wheels on the car aren't doing it any favors. Mileage? Apparently you have to call for that.

Chevrolet sold 28,566 Corvettes in ‘68, almost 20,000 of those being the fun in the sun convertible. Despite the lopsided model mix, it is that more-common droptop that today commands a premium over the T-roof coupe. But that perhaps does not seem to be the case with this one. The dealer — dealer! — is asking $17,900, which seems more like coupe money than what you'd stuff in a G-string to get it topless.

But is that deal? After all, the ‘68 Vette did have some frustrating problems, and who knows if those ghosts have been busted? It also comes with the wrong engine and the question of how professional that SBC's build has been. All that might make the price tag reasonable, or even a rip off.

And now it's time for you to weigh in on that. What do think, is that $17,900 a price that puts this Corvette on the launch pad? Or, does that just seem astronomical?